Studying Abroad: an Enriching Experience

Every year thousands of Indian students apply to study at various reputed colleges/university. However, neither all can afford to study abroad nor everyone understands the pros of studying abroad.

Most people either believe studying abroad is a luxury afforded by people with money or fear that their wards will be lost or mistreated on a foreign land. Parents also worry about their children’s safety and well-being.

But one can safely say most fears are unfounded as studying abroad can be an enriching experience for your child both personally and career wise. Yes, all parents worry about their child’s well-being but don’t let your fear of unknown spoil your child’s career prospects. And if your child is really a good student then studying abroad can increase his/her chances to secure good job after returning to India.

Below are mentioned some reasons on why you should allow your children to study abroad:

1. Understanding of New Culture, Religions and People: As mentioned before studying abroad can be an enriching experience. Not only this, it can be an eye-popping adventure as well. Your ward will get the first hand experience of new culture, people, religion, new ways of studying and thinking. All these factors combined can contribute significantly to your child’s growth both personally and intellectually. This experience could also contribute towards increasing your child’s confidence and can transform them into an independent and responsible person.
Studying abroad also provides students with wonderful opportunity to make friends belonging to different countries and backgrounds.

2. Adds Value to Degree: The best part about studying abroad is, your child get to study courses that might not be available on home campus. In addition, language skills also get a boost and it’s quite easy to add a minor or a second major without having to add new courses after returning to home campus.

3. Career Growth: Studying abroad not just broadens student’s perspective on world, world issues and other related stuff, but it also enhance their employment prospects in fields such as government services, business and international affairs etc. Employers would be more than happy to employ someone who has successfully completed his/her studies abroad as they know such as person bring new way thinking, possesses internationalknowledge and might even have learned some new language. Such a person might also posses’ qualities like high elf confidence, analytical skills, resilience, and ability to adjust to new situations, culture and ability to deal with difference.

4. Broadens Perspective: Staying and studying in one’s own country provides fixed set of views on your own country and other countries and cultures. However, when students study aboard, they start to see things differently and they can analyze the situation from someone else’s perspective as well. Their knowledge of economic, political and social issues both nationally and internationally deepens. Students also learn what other people’s views on their country.

5. Learning a New Language: Though, we say that English is a universal language, yet in some countries favor their own language. So when a student decides to study in such a country, learning that country’s language becomes very important as it will allow her/him to interact with people there. Students can view it as an opportunity to learn new language.

6. Understanding Oneself: Studying abroad is not just a wonderful opportunity career wise but it can also allow student know his/her self better than before. While studying abroad, student will be on their own and they will have to adjusting to new culture, people, lifestyle etc. These new experiences will allow them to learn how capable they are to adjust to the change. They will face the challenge their views, values and beliefs. This experience can either strengthen their previous beliefs or students could end up discarding them in favor of fresh ones.

Lastly, decision to study abroad should not be made on a whim as not everyone can survive the change and cultural shock that will come with change in the country. So before embarking on this journey, students should think hard about if they are capable and ready to embrace the change.